Wagon-tongue controller.



y N0-831,661. PATENTEDSBPT.25,1906J L. J. PROGARD.

WAGON TONGUE CONTROLLER.

APPLICATION FILED PEB. 8. 1906.

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N0. 831,661. PATENTED SEPT. 25, 1906, L. J. FROGARD.

WAGON TONGUE CONTROLLER.

APPLIOATION FILED FEB. 8. 1906.

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LOUlS J. FROGARD, OF CHICAGO, ILLNOIS.

WAGON-TONGUE CONTROLLER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 25, 1906.

Application tiled February 8,1906. Serial No. 300,054.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, Louis J. Fnoeann, a citizen of the United States et America, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of illinois have invented certain new and useful improvements in lagon-Tongue A,ontrollers, of which the following is a speci- 'lic-ation.

My invention relates to improvements in wagon-tongue controllers, and is 'fully de scribed and explained in this specilication and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a section through my improved device in the broken line l 1 in Fig. 2. Fig. 2- a vertical section in .the line 2 2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of my device, the

wagon-tongue being shown in cross-section*` Fig. el is a top plan el the device on a smaller scale, showing the manner in which the connections are run. Fig. 5 is a plan view of a fragment of one of the chains and the spring connected therewith. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal vertical section in the line 6 6 of Figi, and Fig. 7 is a section in the line 7 7 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, A is a wagontongue, and B B are the cellars of the nigh and eti' horses, respectively. ln the ordinary two-horse wagon the tongue is secured to the front axle, so as to be incapable et' operation in a horizontal plane with respect thereto, and it is by means of this rigid relation between the tongue and the axle that the horses are enabled to turn the vehicle. ln running upon rough roads, aiicl1})artici1lar'ly upon city streets when paved lVith stone blocks or cobblestones, the irregularities of the roadway strike one or the other of the front wheels,

causing sharp sudden turns of the axle,which are of no very large extent, but which are sul'licient to switch the tongue around in a most undesirable manner. When the tongue is thus switched from side to side, it frequently strikes the horses, hurting or 'frightening them, and because of this danger et injury by the tongue the horses soon learn to pull as iar apart as possible, so as to avoid unnecessary contact with the tongue. As a result the horses waste their strength in pulling sidcwise in opposite directions and also are not in a posit'on to exert the most forward influence upon the vehicle. Furthermore, by spreading apart they cause the vehicle to take up an unnecessary amount of room in passing through the streets, thus adding unnecessarily to the congestion or tra'llic.

The object of my present invention is to cause such a connection between the tongue A and the collars B B as to greatly decrease the vibration of the tongue, with the consequent diminution et the customary evil results thereof. lith this end in view I secure to the lower side ol" the tongue A at its lorward or 'l'ree end a trame C, preferably' formed of sheet metal and having a bottom plate c, a top plate c', and a rear end clip c2, preferably U -shaped in cross-section and lormed te unite the top and bottom plates, as illustrated in Fig. 6. The top and bottom plates are spaced apart and held together by shouldered bolts c3, which operate also to secure the trame to the tongue. lt is to be noted that the top and bottom plates et the trame are bent transversely, as illustrated, se that the frame slants upward on its two sides for a purpose which will presently e apparent.

Between the plates of the frame C and at the two sides thereof` are journaled two sprocket-wheels D D, over which run chains E E te the collars B B respectively. The chains E F/ pass through holes c4 in the rear clip c'l o'l" the frame C, and they are provided at their rear ends with cross-pieces e, prevent said ends from passing through said holes. The rear ends of the chains are secured to springs Ff' E, respectively, which are in turn secured to the wagon-tongue and operate to exert a continuous backward pull upon the chains, tending to hold the collars as near as possible to the tongue. The sprocket-wheels D D are provided with ratchet-wheels D2 D3, the teeth ot' said ratchet-wheels running in opposite directions and being so arranged that when engaged by suitable pawls they will prevent left-hand rotation el' the sprocket-wheel D and righthand rotation of the sprocket-wheel D- fi. c., they will Aprevent such rotation of the sprocket-wheels as will permit the collars to i raw away from the tongue, but will permit rotation in the opposite directions, so that the springs can pull the chains backward. Pivoted between the slats of the frame C are two longitudinally-extending horizontallyoscillatablepawls F F adapted to engage with the teeth of the ratchets D2 D, respectively. These pawls are normally held together and out ol engagement with the ratchets by means of a spring f, Fig. l.

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, to which the pawls F F vgagement with the ratchets.

The upper plate c of the frame C is provided with a downwardly-projecting lug c4, is pivoted `a weighted pendulum G, playing through a slot in the bottom plate c; of the frame and capable of oscillating transversely with respect to the tongue.

is provided with a spring f curved as illustrated in Fig. l, one end of the spring being fixed to the pawl and the other being interposed between the tongue and the.

pendulum.

The operation of my device is substantially as follows: When the wagon is running upon a smooth road, the pendulum hangs down quietly and the pawls are out of en- The horses pull ahead in the ordinary way. The two chains are therefore held reasonably taut by means of the springs by which they are connected to the tongue. If one front wheel of the wagon strikes an obstacle in the road, which would under ordinary circumstances switch the tongue sidewise, so as to hurt the horse, the first initial side movement of the tongue under the influence of the obstruction moves the frame bodily sidewise, while the inertia of the pendulum causes it to remain stationary. In other words, the pendulum is swung with considerable force to one side of the frame and to that side of the frame from which the tongue is swinging. Assuming that the tongue is horse, the pendulum swings to the right,- as

' seen in Fig. 1, whereupon it immediately strikes the spring f', secured to the pawl F, contracts said spring, and pushes the pawl into engagement with the ratchet D2 upon the sprocket-wheel D. This makes it impossible for the chain E to be paid out any farther, and the movement of the tongue is therefore checked by the collar of the nigh horse. As soon as this strain is brought to bear upon the chain E, tending to rotate it against the influence of the ratchet D2, the teeth of the ratchet hold the pawl in engagement with themselves as long as the strain is kept up. When the strain is released, however, the comparatively light spring f draws the pawl out of engagement.` The backlash of the tongue, which would normally occur afterl the obstacle has been passed, is Vprevented in a similar way when the pendulum swings in the opposite direction. As soon as the strains upon the chain are released the pawls fall out of engagement and the horses go on in the ordinary way. As a matter of practice in passing along a rough road the pendulum vibrates back and forth quite fre` quently, thus continuously locking and unlocking the chains, so that no very considerable movement of the tongue is possible at any one time. The springs j" operate to cause a prolonged engagement between the pawls and pendulum, so as to prevent a sud- EaclrofVV swinging toward the ofi"v den rebound of the pawls from the ratchets beforeV the pulling of the chains locks them in position. The efficiency of my device depends largely upon two factors. In the rst place the chains are always held taut by the springs, so that there is no lost motion suchas would occur were the chains loose. In the second place means is provided by which the movement of the chain in the direction to permit swing of the tongue is instantly stopped as the tongue begins to move. These things are accomplished without in any way hampering the movement of the horses, as would be done were the chains made as short as would be necessary to keep them tight under all conditions. In addition to these features the device is constructed with mechanism for prolonging the contact between the pendulum and pawls to insure a firm grip, and the frame is bent so that the chain lies approximately in the plane of the sprocket-wheels in running upward to the collars.

I realize that considerable sible in the details of this construction without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I do not limit myself, therefore, to

variation is pos-- I c aim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent Y l. The combination with a tongue, flexible connecting devices running from the tongue to the horses, means for picking up slack in the connecting devices, and means for arresting the movement of the connecting devices.

2. The combination with a tongue, connecting devices running to the horses, and means for taking up slack in the connecting devices, of means operated by the movement of the tongue in one direction for arresting movement of the connecting devices on the side from which the tongue is moving.

3. The combination with a tongue and connecting devices running to the horses, of means for taking up slack in the connecting devices and means operating by-inertia` to arrest the connecting devices as the tongue' begins to move.

4. The combination with a tongue and connecting devices running to the horses, of means for arresting the movement of the connecting devices and a pendulum operating by inertia to throw said arresting means into action as the tongue begins to move.

5. The combination with a tongue and connecting devices running to the horses, of a pair of wheels over which the connecting devices run and with respect to which the connecting devices are secured against relative movement, means for arresting rotation of the wheels, and an inertia device arranged to control said arresting device.y

6. The combination with a tongue and .lOO

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connecting devices running to the horses, of a pair of wheels over which the connecting devices run and with respect to which the connecting devices are secured against relative movement, pawls arranged to engage with the wheels to prevent their rotation, and an inertia device adapted to engage the pawls as the tongue begins to move.

7. The combination with a tongue and connecting devices running to the horses, of a pair of wheels over which the connecting devices run and with respect to which the connecting devices are secured against relative movement, pawls arranged to engage with the wheels to prevent their rotation, and a pendulum adapted to engage the pawls when the tongue begins to move.

S. The combination with a tongue and connecting devices running to the horses, of a pair of wheels over which the connecting devices run and with respect to which the connecting devices are secured against relative movement, pawls arranged to engage with the wheels to prevent their rotation, an inertia device adapted to engage the pawls as the tongue begins to move, and means for disengaging the pawls when the pull on the connecting devices is released.

9. The combination with a tongue, a frame secured thereto, wheels mounted in the Jframe, a chain running over the wheels and connected to the horses collars or other suitable part of the harness, and springs arranged to take up slack in the chains, of ratchets on the wheels, pawls arranged to engage with the ratchets, and a pendulum arranged to engage the pawls to throw them into engagement with the ratchets.

10. The combination with a tongue, a frame secured thereto, wheels mounted in the frame, a chain running over the wheels and connected to the horses collars or other suitable part of the harness, and springs arranged to take up slack in the chains, of ratchets on the wheels, pawls arranged to engage with the ratchets, a pendulum arranged to engage the pawls to throw them into engagement with the ratchets, and means for disengaging the pawls 'from the ratchets.

11. The combination with a tongue, a frame secured thereto, wheels mounted in the frame, a chain running over the wheels and connected to the horses collars or other suitable part of the harness, and springs arranged to take up slack in the chains, of ratchets on the wheels, pawls arranged to engage with the ratchets, a endulum arranged to engage the pawls to t row them into engagement Wi h the ratchets, and a spring connecting the pawls and arranged to disengage them from the ratchets.

12. The combination with a tongue, a frame secured thereto, Wheels mounted in the frame, a chain running over the wheels and connected to the horses collars or other suitable part of the harness, and springs arranged to take up slack in the chains, of ratchets on the wheels, pawls arranged to engage with the ratchets, a endulum arranged to engage the pawls to t row them into engagement with the ratchets, and means for prolonging the effective contact between the pendulum and the pawls.

13, The combination with a tongue, a frame secured thereto, wheels mounted in the frame, a chain running over the wheels and connected to the horses collars or other suitable part of the harness, and springs arranged to take up slack in the chains, of ratchets on the wheels, pawls arranged to engage with the ratchets, a pendulum arranged to engage the pawls to throw them into en gagement with the ratchets, and springs interposed between the pawls and pendulum to prolong the eiective contact between the same.

In witness whereof I have signed the above application for Letters Patent, at Chicago, in

the county of Cook and State of Illinois, this 2d daT of February, A. D. 1906.

LOUIS J. FROGARD. Witnesses:

CHAs. O. SHnRvEY, K. M. CoRNwALL. 

